Santa Cruz nature trip: UC Arboretum's horticultural beauty

A male allen's and a male anna's hummingbird fight for position in the South African Erica Garden of the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum in Santa Cruz, Tuesday, March 11, 2014. (Patrick Tehan/Bay Area News Group)
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Patrick Tehan
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The mazelike pathways are lined with giant shrubs with blooms that resemble tropical birds or silk scarves blowing in the breeze. Tom Sauceda leads the way: past the Hebe plants (named for the Greek goddess of youth) with their electric purple blossoms; past a South African specialty, Phylica plumosa, with flowers that call frilly yellow plumes to mind; and past an Australian native, Banksia ericifolia, with startling inflorescences flaming red and yellow and shaped like giant corncobs.

"Everywhere you look, there are more beautiful things," Sauceda says, turning a corner in the UCSC Arboretum, a secret gem in the little city on the Central Coast, "and this is where you're going to see the hummingbirds."

And there they are: at least a dozen of them, each as green as the Emerald City, making excited clicking noises as they hover to sip nectar from the flowers of a Grevillea "Ruby Clusters," a name that captures the color and profusion of its blooms.

"They are very territorial, very aggressive little birds," explains Sauceda, a botanical curator who has worked at the arboretum for 20-plus years. "Just wait! The little buggers are probably going to start fighting: 'Hey, that's my flower!' "

Covering 64 acres on campus, the Arboretum is yours to explore seven days a week. ($5 adults; $2 ages 6-17; free, ages 5 and under; http://arboretum.ucsc.edu). High in the hills above town, it's a quintessential Santa Cruz spot: It adjoins redwood forests, and while driving to it, you can soak in the ocean views. Take a picnic. Visit the gift shop. (It sells quite a few of the exotic plants that grow on the grounds.)

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When you're finished, exit on High Street, driving west to soak in those vistas (they'll be on your right), then hang a left on Spring Street. Now you're heading to Pogonip Park -- you'll see the gate at the top of the street -- where you can hike eight miles of trails through 640 acres of redwoods and meadows, all within the city limits.